


Your Favorite Idiot

by aangsslut



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Modern AU, Zuko is a dork, Zutara, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aangsslut/pseuds/aangsslut
Summary: Katara asks Zuko to pick up some shampoo and he forgets that texting is a thing.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Zutara - Relationship
Comments: 17
Kudos: 271





	Your Favorite Idiot

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by hvitserker on tumblr!

Zuko watched as Katara hastily patted on pale blue eyeshadow and slicked mascara over her eyelashes. “I have a meeting with White Lotus International that might run a little late. Can you grab groceries for dinner tonight?”

Zuko, who sat comfortably at the kitchen table in his sleep shirt and boxers, swallowed a large bite of toast and made a face. “I'm off every other Friday and you do this every time.”

Katara glanced at him in the mirror. “Do what?”

“Force me out of the house to run errands. Can't I have some peace and quiet on my day off for once?”

"Oh, but what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't put you to work?” Katara trotted over and took a bite of his toast, crumbs clinging to the corner of her mouth. Absently, she played with his hair.

“I clean the house every week and make dinner almost every night,” he pointed out with a frown, though there was no real irritation behind it. The sensation of Katara’s fingers carding through his hair always relaxed him.

“And I'm very proud of you for it.”

Zuko shook his head and Katara withdrew her hand. “Pretty sure there’s some Bible verse where even Jesus gets to rest on day seven or something,” he mumbled.

“Wow, when did you become a Bible-quoting door knocker?” she teased, pretending to be impressed.

“Since I’ve started praying for my sanity every other Friday.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “You are _such_ a pain.”

“And you love me for it.” Zuko leaned over and cocked his eyebrow at the sleepy pile of fur sprawled at his feet. “Appa, tell mommy I'm a good boyfriend and deserve a day of rest.”

Their black and white English Sheepadoodle's ear twitched at the mention of his name. He raised his head and stared at the couple, eyes flicking between the two of them with only mild interest, before yawning and tucking his head back down to sleep.

“I win,” Katara crowed.

“That was hardly acquiescence,” Zuko protested, but his lips twitched. He peered down at the dog again. “What do you say, buddy? Should we meet mommy’s ridiculous demands?” He scratched behind Appa's ear and grinned when his tail thumped against the hardwood floor.

Katara kissed the top of his head. “I appreciate it,” she admitted, genuinely apologetic. “I’d grab everything myself, but this meeting is really important and I don’t think I’ll be out in time."

“I know,” Zuko replied gently, twining his fingers with hers. “You’re just so easy to rile up.”

“Likewise,” she shot back with a grin.

She pulled away and slipped on her shoes, tripping as she attempted to pull the straps around her ankles. She wasn’t much for heels unless it was necessary, and her meeting tonight had the misfortune of qualifying. “Surprise me for dinner,” she called over her shoulder as she managed to wrestle her shoes on all the way. “And please don't forget the shampoo!”

Zuko watched his girlfriend of three years pull out of the driveway before silence descended on the small condo. Appa stared at him expectantly.

“Do you need to go for a walk? Should I buy the most high-quality dog food His Honor needs, or can I get some time to myself for half an hour first?”

Appa let out a soft whine and nudged Zuko's knee.

Zuko stuffed the last bite of toast in his mouth and grumbled, “Fine, fine, let me get your leash.”

~

Zuko stood in front of the imposing wall of Walmart's shampoo selection and realized he had a problem.

“Uh…”

He had no idea which shampoo Katara used. Garnier something? Pantene? Didn't they all work the same anyway? Why did he even agree to do this when he hadn’t even bothered to check the shampoo that sat _right_ in the shower before he left?

Maybe he _was_ an idiot.

Zuko groaned and flipped the cap of one particularly technicolored bottle and inhaled deeply; pineapple with a hint of lavender. It smelled great, but it wasn’t Katara’s. Hers was more minty, with a weird after-scent of something soft.

He took another whiff of a shampoo and coughed, shoving it back on the shelf in disgust. It smelled like the entire bottle had been marinated in a coconut. He _hated_ coconut. And he was pretty sure Katara's shampoo didn't smell like that.

He tried another bottle; mango. Another; peach. Another—wait, that was conditioner. His phone buzzed and he ignored it. It was two thirty-five, which meant he had a few hours before Katara got home from her meeting.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. Smelling his way to the correct bottle of shampoo was _not_ how he envisioned his day off.

With a put-upon sigh, he grabbed his phone and punched in a number he knew by heart.

“Zuko! Buddy!” Sokka's voice boomed from the tiny speaker and Zuko jumped. “What can I do for you?” If Sokka was here, he'd accompany that question with an overenthusiastic clap on the back.

“Hi, uh, do you know what kind of shampoo Katara uses?”

“The kind of—no, why would I know that?”

“She asked me to pick some up for her but I don't know what to get.”

“Ah, you know how girls are with their shampoo.” Sokka’s voice had the tired ease of too much experience in this matter. “They need something super specific for their exact hair texture. It all works the same anyway. Suki insists it repairs her split ends and softens her hair, but between you and me…" Sokka's voice dropped, and Zuko imagined him leaning closer and cupping his hand over the phone to whisper, "I call it a placebo. Why they can’t just use the two-in-one stuff like us low-maintenance people is beyond my comprehension, but whatever.”

_“Just because you have the hair of a boarcupine doesn't mean the rest of us can't give a fuck!”_

Suki’s indignant voice rattled through the phone speakers, and Zuko laughed.

“I've been smelling each shampoo to try and figure out what Katara uses,” he confessed.

“You— _what?"_

Sokka sounded horrified and Suki roared with laughter. Faintly, it sounded like she added, “Zuko, you absolute cinnamon roll,” but he couldn’t be sure.

“Anyway, I need to get back to that if I want to hunt this thing down before Katara gets home,” Zuko said. “I'll call you later.”

“Why don't you just te—”

Zuko hit the end call button and tucked his phone away. It buzzed with another text, but he ignored it. He had to finish this so he could get home in time to make dinner and take Appa for another walk. With a sigh, he picked up another bottle and got back to the task at hand.

~

The smell of sea prunes wafted through the condo as Katara's Civic pulled into the driveway.

“Appa! Hi there, good boy!” The Sheepadoodle wriggled around Katara’s feet as she kicked her shoes off, and Appa wasted no time flopping on his side to expose his bare tummy. Katara laid down next to him for tummy rubs and flashed Zuko a grin.

“Hey, you. How are things?”

“Another day in paradise,” Zuko answered, dropping a teaspoon of salt into the frothing pot. “I took Appa for a walk but left my phone at home and forgot to check it when I got back. Hopefully the world hasn’t burned down in my absence.”

“No fear of missing out, I see,” Katara teased and stood to unload her briefcase. “I like it.”

Zuko jerked his head toward the table. “I grabbed your shampoo. Is this the right one?"

Katara peeked in the bag and pulled out a 12-ounce bottle of Aussie for thick, wavy hair. “This is perfect, thanks.” Something seemed to dawn on her. “Wait, how did you know which was mine? I texted you about halfway through the day but you told me you didn't check your phone.”

Zuko shrugged absently as he stirred the pot of boiling sea prunes. “This one smelled closest.”

Silence fell over the kitchen, and Zuko turned to his girlfriend. Katara's eyebrows had flown to her hairline. "Wait a minute, let me get this straight," she began, enunciating each word like she was still working it out for herself. “You smelled—and I cannot stress this enough— _every single_ shampoo bottle in Walmart to determine which one was mine?”

“It wasn't every bottle!” Zuko snapped defensively. Katara's eyes gleamed and Zuko felt his cheeks heat, the wooden spoon in his hands suddenly inexplicably heavy. “It sounds stupid when you put it like that,” he grumbled as an afterthought, as if it would save face at this point. “Also, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to put coconut in shampoo?”

Katara peered at him with an unreadable expression and his palms began to sweat.

“No, but seriously—”

“I didn't think to check my phone, okay?” Zuko huffed, forgetting the sea prunes and crossing his arms over his chest. He was determined to defend his decision-making skills, which, unfortunately, were starting to look poorer and poorer with each passing moment. “I was a little preoccupied, and when I called Sokka to ask if he knew what kind of shampoo you used, he just _laughed.”_ Distantly, he noted that he sounded like an affronted child that had just been told their lunch had been eaten by someone else.

Katara lost it. She doubled over and shrieked with laughter and Zuko looked on helplessly, at a loss for what to do as Katara went on to bruise a lung. She stuttered out incoherent sentences between breaths.

“You...you…” her face contorted as she tried and failed to control herself. “You're the most—ridiculous p-person—I've ever met.”

“I am not—just say thank you already!”

Shoulders scrunched up to his burning ears, he turned back to the stove and stirred the pot more aggressively than was probably necessary. Meanwhile, Katara continued howling behind him.

“You didn’t think to check your phone, you absolute _dork!”_

“Are you done yet?” He demanded, his face as hot as his ears. Katara totally had a point, but he wasn’t about to admit it. His dignity had already self-destructed enough for the day and he wanted to make it through with at least a shred of it intact.

He must've looked like he was about to die on the spot because Katara took pity on him and attempted to calm down. She took a few deep breaths and set her lips into a tight, thin line, still grinning, and pulled him into one of her hugs he loved so much.

“I love you,” she gasped, her face pressed into his chest and her body still shaking with giggles. “You're so silly. Thank you, Zuko. Your dedication is appreciated.”

Zuko's lips twitched, and he relaxed into her embrace. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll just check my phone next time,” he joked weakly, and rested his cheek against her head. He could smell remnants of the shampoo he’d spent all day trying to find. “But when have you ever known me to take the easy way out?”

“Mmm, very true. And I love you for it.” Katara squeezed him and stepped back. “Those sea prunes smell delicious. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You can start preparing the salad, if you want.”

Zuko smiled softly as Katara fished a head of lettuce from the fridge. Not for the first time, he thought about how nice it was to have someone who teased him in a way that wasn’t meant to hurt him, who loved him for all of him, even when he made decisions that were more than a little questionable. He was looking forward to spending many more happy—and playful—years together.

**Author's Note:**

> One of my friends has a Sheepadoodle named Appa and he is the gOODEST BOY and I shamelessly included him here. This one's for you, buddy.
> 
> Hit me up at aangsslut on tumblr!


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